Things endearing and somewhat lovable yet questionable about RH BBC
by LadyReaper1992
Summary: So, this is my review and opinion about the series itself and I am going to put a spoiler warning since it does have details regarding many moments of the show itself, and It's also going to feature some issues with the characters as well as the questionable script writing and the whoopsies that the series had pretty much gotten stuck with for life! So, SPOILER WARNING!
1. Chapter 1

**This is a review of the series, so it's my opinion, if you have other thoughts about this, that's totally fine! put it in the reviews!**

 **disclaimer: I don't own the series, if I did, it's getting a makeover!**

 **warning: may contain some character smashing**

Chapter 1: The Premise of the series

Yes, we know about the whole plot of Robin Hood, King Richard the lionhearted fighting in the holy land, Sheriff of Nottingham and Prince John take over England and tax the holy moly out of the townsfolk, Robin Hood goes from riches to rags to help the poor upon coming back from the holy land, yadda yadda, yadda! Nearly unoriginal to say the least, but it's good in a 'so cheesy it's hilarious' kind of way.

There are some weird and goofy things about the series that always had kind of….irked me, if you want to call it that. Firstly….what the hell kind of research where they doing in terms of the time period? Firstly, did someone from Doctor Who leave a bunch of Cover girl eye shadow and makeup as well as a curling iron in that time period? I'm looking at an article about makeup in the medieval times, and though it's debated, the makeup ladies used at the time period this series was taking place in was only rouge…not eyeshadow, pencils and blush as well as eyeliner! Secondly, there were some particularly odd things about 'new characters', don't worry, we'll get into that too. And then there's…..marriage, we're getting into that one as well, rest easy. Then there's the ever so lovely and cute….. _technical issues…._

Do not even get me started on the henchman known as the 'black leathered, tall, dark and handsome' man of lonesome fan girl's fantasies, who happens to be a mu'faffing mess!', ugh…I'm sorry, he's a bit like a whiny emo with as much skills in wooing as a dog in heat who had an already avalanched start of life to begin with, it just had rocks, swords and daggers stuffed into it! That's for possibly a future chapter ranting on most of the characters.

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I mean, I've seen most episodes of the series and though I know it's supposed to be a *ahem* retelling of Robin Hood, I'm not sure they even nailed this right…It's like they shot the arrow towards the bulls-eye, but they missed it by _that_ much.

Seasons 1 & 2 were like 'OK, this is a bit meh to me at best', but season 3…..what were they thinking? And the season 2 finale is going to be discussed definitely.

The writing is something to at times gawk at definitely, like stuff that we'd say in the modern days, they never in a bazillion years would say in Medieval Europe! 'Get a Grip!' 'Much, Shut up!' Huh? OK, the writers should be forced to do proper research into those things, wouldn't you say?

The way they did the characters for this series is _almost_ correct, with some weird alternatives for certain characters *coughs* Alan a'Dale and Guy of Gisborne as well as Marian *coughs hard* excuse me!

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So, in terms of the premise for this, it's almost like the stuff from movies, TV and books, it's not without a few Whoopsies on the side!

So, what are we going to discuss in future chapters?

Particularly peeving or annoying or questionable characters

The ever so weird writing for the scripting and screenplay for many episodes

The controversial ending to Season 2 and why Season 3 was a lot of 'HUH!?' from that point forward to the cancellation of the show after the views were less than abysmal


	2. Chapter 2

**Ah, yes, a widely debated thing! I'm not sure what they did with the characters, I'm to be honest not sure it was in their favor!**

 **disclaimer: I don't own the series or the folklore at all!**

 **warning: character smashing and some language**

Chapter two: the characters

Ugh…what's there to be said about this segment other than there are characters who make me want to reenact a scene from American Psycho due to how either stupid, childish, arrogant or downright egotistical they are!

Firstly, Robin Hood himself…..oh, yes this smug little pompous windbag is supposed to be the hero of the story, the problem is that in this series he is too idealistic and at times full of himself, but if that sense of idealism is shattered, then you better hide because he can be pretty dare devilish and unstable, extremely prominent in 'Eclipse' (season 3, episode 1)! I mean at times he's genuinely a great guy to hang around and have a few….squirrels with, but not sure he'd be pretty good hubby material, if you know what I mean, but he's not as bad as 'Tall, dark, and made adult women's panties go 'poof!'' that I'll talk about shortly, but he was the reason Mr. 'leather clad psycho obsessive bad boy's' sister ultimately turned evil, not cool, dingus, not cool at all.

Second, Marian of Knighton, yes she's aloof, cold and very 'you broke my heart, yet I can't tell you I love you because another batsh*t crazy in love suitor wants my hand!' in the first and most of the second season, but that pretty much gradually melts, before ultimately being 'plooped' in a fireplace, and on top of that, she's a sassy badass in this series. She's also ridiculously stubborn to a certain degree that's pretty much 'you're faffing reckless!' considering it's especially pumped when her father, Edward of Knighton dies in Season 2, Episode 7. And apparently love is blind…..and makes us idiots as demonstrated in Season 2, episode 13….oh, yes, this controversial episode! So, Marian, Guy, and the King are in this square in the holy land and Guy is at this time adamant about making Marian his Lady Gisborne, to where he'd take her by force as his bride if it was _very necessary._ I think we know how that worked out…as demonstrated here:

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Me: *is in the holy land, trying to get Marian to let Gisborne down easy* Ok, Marian, no pressure, but you are going to have to let him down gently!

Marian: stop! It's over, Guy!

Me: not quite the start I had in mind, but do you…

Guy Get out of the way.

Marian: all this time I've been fighting for England, you think I'm going to let you kill England?!

Me: Ok, now you're starting to turn into Robin!

Guy: get OUT OF THE WAY! *as he's swinging a sword*

Marian: You're going to have to kill me first!

Me: Ok, now you're just asking to be dead! *sarcasm*

Guy: No, we're going to get out of this, I'm going to do this thing, and I will have power beyond measure, we will _be together._

Marian: *smiles before laughing* I'd rather die than be with you, Guy of Gisborne.

Me: no, nooo! No, bad Idea, no _extremely bad idea,_ Marian! What the heeeellll are you doing?!

Guy: *is pretty much shocked as he says 'no'*

Marian: I'm going to marry Robin Hood.

Me: oh, you're _so dead_ at this point, Marian! Why would you say that to the one person who wants to kill your true love and is more crazy about you than normal?!

Marian: I love Robin Hood….I love Robin Hood….

*Guy pretty much stabs her before I leave, wanting a Shirley Temple and some quality time with Top Gun*

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Yeah….why would you say 'I'm going to marry Robin Hood' to the one person (Or one of maybe three or four people) who wants Robin Hood DEAD!? Oh, and it gets even worse! Apparently on a website dedicated to TV, book, movie, etc. tropes, in the 'fridge' trope, the writers admitted to killing off Marian because they 'wanted to take something precious away from Robin'…mission accomplished because the ratings PLUMMETED from that time forward and the writers had to do something to make Season 3 extremely interesting for what's left of the viewers still even watching this at the time! And I feel _bad_ for Robin, he _finally_ married the woman he loved…only for her to die in 5 MINUTES!

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And finally…the one character who PEEVES me badly…everyone's favorite leather chaffing henchman, Guy of Gisborne. What is there to say about Guy in the series? He's vain, arrogant, temperamental, horrendously insecure, _crazy_ and the _worst assassin in history!_ Allow me to explain that part, he failed to kill not one….but FOUR PEOPLE! (Not sure if Isabella even counts to be honest and Marian was...well, we've seen it.) He failed to kill Robin Hood a hilariously high amount of times, failed to kill King Richard not once but _twice!_ Failed to kill Prince John, and gods only know how he _majorly_ botched killing the Sheriff of Nottingham! I know what some of you are thinking: 'at least he's good with kids, right?' *smashes the wrong answer buzzer button* Do I need to remind you he _abandoned his infant son_ and lied to the mother of his illegitimate child about putting the child at a church?! (I'm not sure if it was ever explained in that episode since I never watched it!)Very contradictory considering that he's not about killing kids or anyone for the sake of getting a pleasant high! And his sister Isabella (We'll get to her!), he could have killed her, but chose not to….big mistake, doofus, I know the whole 'Ohana' thing…but the Gisbornes…yeah, doesn't apply for crap to those people. And also, there's this running gag that has gotten so old, it turned to ash faster than Guy's imaginative happy as hell world with Marian did when he killed her! And that's the whole 'Guy gets stabbed in the back' shtick, how ironic that the one person who didn't do that was his arch nemesis himself! Oh, and don't forget 'plot induced stupidity', how did the writers get away with writing someone who's 'Intelligent, cunning, good with a sword—'*careless whisper by George Michael starts playing before I smash the music player with Mjolnir* NOT THAT SWORD, PERVERTS! Get your mind out of the gutter! Where was I? *thinks for a moment before a proverbial light bulb shines above my head* Oh yeah! 'A skilled leader, great at combat, etc.', pretty much an idiot in many episodes, unless he's deliberately oblivious to what's going on around him! And sure, he has a softer side….but it's only shown a hilariously short amount of times! Like maybe 5 or 10 times at least!

Oh, and remember Season 2, episode 8? When Marian goes to the castle to save Robin Hood's life on top of getting Guy to leave her alone? Yeah, they're in a private room and Marian pretty much tells Guy that she's possibly 'going to be a nun', when in actuality she joined Robin's gang, and to pretty much _leave her the hell alone!_ But of course, Guy doesn't buy it a single bit! And what does he say to Marian after she says she needs time to grieve over her dad's death? 'What better way to grieve, than to create new life?' that's right, he basically said to her 'You can cope with your dad's death by having sex with me and having my kids! But you need to actually marry me first in order to do that.' dude….you're majorly screwed in the head. But, this is the medieval times, and women didn't have much of any rights back then, noble, royal or peasant! Oh, and here's another kicker: again, from TV tropes, Richard wanted to make Guy as 'creepy as possible' when it came to his interactions with Marian, especially those kisses…may I say 'epic fail' because it had more women turned on than creeped out!

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Friar Tuck doesn't really peeve me since I do like badass people, and especially since he's good with weapons and herbs, not to mention strategy advice!

Kate of Locksley…..oh, this bitch got on the nerves of everyone who watched Season #3, her voice is so….shrilled to where it's like nearly banshee wailing, but not quite there! Not only that, she gets herself into so many situations, ghostly Marian almost gave up hope on King Richard even coming home from the crusades! And Robin has the _balls_ to say that she's compassionate like Marian…..HOW?! She nearly got raped _multiple times,_ got herself kidnapped again _multiple times!_ Ugh…she was the worst replacement….but she's not the only one in the useless and stupid love triangle to replace an even more complicated, yet deadly (literally!) love triangle, oh no!

Isabella of Gisborne…..she reminds me of some crazy bitches I've only seen in Maury and Springer along with some LMN stuff, movies and TV shows! We first see her in season 3 episode 5, when she is running away from her abusive douche of a husband's men and Robin kind of mistakes her for a decoy at first until she tells him after pretty much stopping Guy from striking the final blow on Robin, and it really doesn't help that Guy had sold her into marriage with Squire Thornton (I think that was a bit of a nod to Richard Armitage's character of John Thornton, the Northern England mill owner from Elizabeth Gaskell's 'Pride and Prejudice-esque' novel North and South!) for a fair price because they were homeless after their land and Locksley merged and they were banished due to having no lands any longer as well as a French mother….Francophobic/Xenophobic much? But bear this in mind: France and England back in the days of ye olden medieval times were bitter enemies in a feud, and that's a fact, history buffs (Watch season 3, episode 10 to see what started the feud between Gisborne and Robin because it will take too long to explain and everyone who watched the whole series would know about that episode!). She goes from a good guy to a bad guy thanks in part to Robin, who like Marian, kind of leads her on in this….relationship? Though to be honest, it's no friends with benefits relationship, I think…

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What to even say about the characters? Some are good, some are bad, but then there's the _so bad it's tragic_ type of characters! And the only other issue with this, apparently they tend to forgive people faster than the Flash can run around the world! And King Richard? He tries to kill the outlaws after automatically believing an emissary of the Sheriff of Nottingham _in disguise_ when he tells him that Robin is going to kill him in the holy land….ugh….impulsive much?


	3. Chapter 3

**We're going to be talking about Season 3 in this chapter of this review, and talking somewhat about made the series a bit...odd. and I do feel bad for Guy because here's a girl named Meg who 'always quite liked him', but she dies after her first kiss with him, that's a billion forms of cruel if you ask me!**

 **disclaimer: don't own the series or folklore**

 **warning: treading into character grinding territory and language**

Chapter 3: Season 3 and its weirdness!

As we all know, season 2 ended in a way that made fans think 'WHAT THE HELL DID WE JUST SEE?!' So upon finding out the reactions of many fans who were pissed about how season 2 ended, can you really blame them? Naturally, they wanted to scramble to make season 3 more interesting and more watchable for many people, not just the normal little kids' audience it was pretty much going for. So, season 3 begins with a very vengeful, disenchanted with a sprinkling of unstable Robin Hood wanting to take down Gisborne for killing his wife in the holy land….only to end in him being knocked out and tossed into the river and presumed dead when Gizzy tells the Sheriff and sir Jasper that….I'm sorry, but don't you need the body to actually declare Robin dead?! (Thankfully, Sir Jasper sees common sense in that!) Oh, wait….that kind of was done in season 2, episode 8, but it was because of a Saracen potion Robin drank before getting to the castle.

Thankfully, Tuck pretty much smacks some sense into him through means of a gambit that worked its charms, and Robin is back to his old self though still mourning Marian. Vaisey is at this point frantic about being 'let go' from his job as Sheriff for epically failing to kill the King, Guy has descended into despair because of killing someone he loved….who _pretended_ to love him in order to spy for her true love, though to be frank he was a million forms of…..determined in terms of wooing Marian. This may as well be more messed up than some of the soap opera style drama I've seen in my high school!

Then comes the ever annoying twit Kate, who's all 'Oh, my brother, my beloved brother is dead!' had I been her dead sibling, I would have secretly been glad to be dead so I don't have to listen to her banshee voice anymore!

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So, what exactly had changed a bit in Guy? Well, other than grieving for an unrequited love that died by his hand, he's got a new outfit and longer hair (I think those were hair extensions unless by some miracle, Richard grew quite a mane of hair!), and he seemed pretty confident in episode 5, 'let the games commence', down to his facial expressions when he explains to Vaisey that 'he won't have need of him ever again' after he kills Robin….call me curious, but I wonder what would happen _should_ Guy finally accomplish that task? To the fanfiction author reading this…consider this your homework assignment: write a fanfiction in an AU Robin Hood fanfic, post Season 3 episode 5, where Guy accomplishes killing Robin Hood with Prince John's pet lion….yes, you read that correctly, the evil, insane Prince of England, had a pet lion. The rest is up to you people, there is no due date for this whatsoever!

So, fast forwarding to Prince John's escapades, he's obviously trying to take over England by making himself King, and the whole 'do you love me?' shindig? If he says that, that means you're _beyond_ screwed, there's no getting around it! So firstly, he's trying to buy the people's support for his potential reign by….curing Scrofula, which can be cured in this series 'by the touch of a King'….I swear I did not make that up, that's literally the premise for 'Do you love me?'…..ugh, this is questionable at best but at least they did proper research on _that one_ , then he ups the ante by denying the villages water, making this wax sculpture of King Richard, complete with skeleton inside it, only to melt it in this coffin over a fire so that Robin won't have proof that the 'King' is just a wax figure so that Prince John would have a 'legitimate reason' to be King of England.

So, fast forward to the final episodes of Robin Hood, Guy joins the gang after his brief love, Meg is dead by his crazy sister Isabella's hand and he's outlawed, learns that they have a brother named Archer (Again….watch episode 10 of this season to see why!) and they've got to go get him, but he's a bit of a twat considering that he was in _literally_ the last three episodes, and he's a bit of a hustler as well as a man whore, considering that he slept with the Sheriff of York's wife to get her to tell her husband to pardon him….yeah, this is questionable….So, the Sheriff of Nottingham turns out to have survived Guy's attack on him, and wants the castle back, a siege _legitimately_ ensues…only to end with Robin, Alan, Guy, Isabella and the Sheriff dead, Guy from sword wounds, Alan from arrow shots, Robin from a poison tipped blade Isabella nicked him with and the latter and Isabella dying from a Byzantine fire explosion, causing Nottingham to be destroyed…at least Robin's reunited with Marian in death, but the fallout from this season finale was BAD.

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How bad was it? There was supposed to be a season 4 of Robin Hood, yes a season 4, but it was cancelled after the ensuing outrage from killing off the major regulars of the series…I think in a way it was for the best, this series had a TON of whoopsies, but it's so cheesy and bad to where it can be hilarious as well as fanfiction fuel for the budding writer looking for something to help solidify the proverbial portfolio!


	4. Chapter 4

**Nearing the end, and we're getting into the real perp behind the fall of the series folks!**

 **disclaimer: don't own the series or folklore!**

 **warning: not sure there is one...**

Chapter 4: script writing, technical problems and a crime caper

Ah, the script writing….can't really say that it's the best thing ever because there's a _number_ of things that I'm pretty sure next to NO ONE had ever said back then! The scripts may as well be like a lather, rinse and repeat kind of deal because some of the script writing though they try to be unlike the other 'Robin Hood' based materials, but it comes off as somewhat of a joke that went so bad it's almost dry and dull! The plot-induced stupidities in the series are a particular eyesore, especially with Guy of Gisborne, the stuff he goes through later on in the series may as well be a very cruel and morbid running gag! According to TV tropes and a picture on Pinterest that I saw, Richard Armitage, the actor who even played Guy, stated that he was getting frustrated with how they were treating Guy in later scripts, as someone who is pretty much prone to betrayal and at times literally, getting stabbed in the back and humiliated to top this already sad looking sundae and once wanted Gizzy to win….uhm, sir…there's a HUGE number of fanfics dedicated to this on Fanfiction and AO3…..just for a little tip.

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In seriousness, when they _tried_ to make season 3 better after the infamous season 2 finale fiasco, I feel like they seriously needed to be let out of the house a bit to get some fresh air because the writing in this one was really….dare I say 'huh?' worthy. To have Kate in there is bad enough, but adding Isabella in there is like rubbing salt in a healing wound, it's going to be painful. And the 'wedding' between Guy and Marian…I'm sorry, but last I checked, if they had consented to marry…. _back_ in the medieval times, they would already be married, the other stuff would just be formalities and pomp and circumstance, right? So, come season 2, Marian would _technically_ be Guy's wife, so that whole deal about you marrying Robin Hood, Marian? Well, forget about it because you're Guy's wife either way! But nope, the writers were like 'wait, let's make this 'wedding' kind of like the 21st century, it will be fantastic for the kids to watch!' yeah, here's the kicker: after doing a bit of research on medieval marriages, pretty much the only way a marriage couldn't happen is if A: the woman was going to be a nun or B: the man was going to be a monk….that's _it!_ Ugh…I better steer from this topic or my brain will be fried!

So, what about the technical issues? Well, there's plastic arrow heads, I believe! And there's a multitude of issues that steer clear of historical accuracy, such as Marian wearing stuff from the 2000s…..seriously, did Doctor Who venture here and accidentally left stuff behind? Apparently they did this crap on purpose for the sake of trying to 'revitalize' Robin Hood…*face palm* ugh, this is…I can't even! Thankfully I'm not the only one who thought this was questionable at best! Have you ever heard of the phrase 'if it's not broken, DON'T FIX IT!?' Obviously, they didn't!

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Apparently at some point before the series even aired for the very first time, there was a story that said that at some point, a whole bunch of tapes were stolen, and the worst part had been that it happened _just_ as promotions and that were being done for the series itself to be aired on TV, cue the accusations of a publicity stunt….now! So the actors had to go back to Hungary to reshoot a bunch of scenes…ouch! But thankfully, the cops had somehow managed to get the tapes back to them as well as arrest the two people who had even done the deed to begin with, which had a rumored 1 million pound ransom in exchange for the tapes themselves. After watching the series, I wondered if maybe the tapes should have STAYED hidden, but at least every now and then they'd be a good watch for the sake of getting a good laugh and poking fun at the characters sometimes.

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So, if the infamous season 2 finale wasn't bad enough, what about season 3's show ending finale? Yeah, pretty much the writers thought 'let's do a purge, Robin, Guy, Isabella, Alan and the Sheriff gone and we can have Archer as the new Robin Hood!' here's the problem: we _barely_ know who Archer even is besides being Guy and Robin's half-brother! All we see at first impression is a sneaky hustler who pretty much uses his….skills to get what he wants. Though at the time, Jonas Armstrong, the actor who played the titular hero, had stated that he was leaving Robin Hood, Richard was doing Spooks (or MI5 if you live in the US like I do!) and a multitude of other TV stuff at the time, and Lucy Griffiths, the lady behind Marian, was doing some TV spots including a miniseries, so I would say that they weren't that bad off in terms of the series…however for Jonas…this was his first major television role…ouch, but at least he had gotten a movie role after the series had ended.

So, what other issues are there? The costumes, especially with Marian's weren't even invented back then until FAR LATER in the centuries to come, they used words which would _never_ have made sense back then until the later centuries, and since when has the actual Robin Hood used _Saracen weapons!?_ And also, why would he have used a recurved bow instead of a longbow? And the Sheriff of Nottingham is a bit bonkers seemingly because in terms of robbing one church to pay off another.


	5. Chapter 5

**We're at the point where I pretty much say what I _liked_ at least about the series!**

 **disclaimer: don't own the series or folklore**

Chapter 5: The good stuff and the overall verdict

I know, I know….I know what you're thinking, "You've smashed this series to a pulp already, what are some _good_ things that you like about this series?" Well, reader, I do however like how Marian is a badass in the series, and Lucy Griffiths did a phenomenal job of portraying the love of Robin Hood's life in a refreshing way. At least with Robin it wasn't too questionable of a character change, in terms of the flirtatious tendencies and womanizing, but at least they stuck with the more noble qualities of Robin, despite a few chinks in the armor. The Sheriff of Nottingham was a truly hilarious and brilliantly evil character to watch and Keith Allen did an amazing job of portraying the Sheriff, it does help that he is a comedian, among other things, from Wales, England's next door neighbor.

Despite my…problems with Guy, Richard did an amazing job of portraying this 'dark man with an insecure and hurting soul waiting to be healed but fate, tragedy and circumstance keeps whooping him over' type of man, like the type who you have to be careful of because if you hug him…he could kill you or use you as a crying cushion, that type of deal, hopefully you've got some experience in counseling and possibly defensive skills. But in seriousness, it was another big stepping stone in his slowly but gradually growing acting career of that time in the 2006-2009 era.

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The supporting characters in the series are at times one dimensional with the exception of some of the other members of Robin's gang, but I did love how John had comforted Marian in season 2, episode 8 after her father died and she couldn't really face the grief because of helping Robin with the poor, since he has a wife and son he sadly had to abandon or the Sheriff would get to them and use them against him, I see him as a kind of friend/brother/father figure for Marian since Robin did help comfort and console her in her grief in the end of season 2, episode 7, despite the arguing in the episode following it, but I think the way they did the whole 'let's cover up the fact that Marian is in Robin's gang with a convent lie!' thing was a bit weirdly done, but as I had suspected, Guy wasn't in the slightest buying it with Alan's bumbling when he turned traitor/anti-hero about how Marian was, with what little knowledge I have about church customs, Nuns and monks did typically take vows of silence upon first stepping through part one of becoming a member of the church.

While it's at times hilarious and dramatic, the historical faux pas is going to be a bit bothersome for Robin Hood buffs everywhere, including the costumes looking like Dr. Who and most of the Time lords of Gallifrey accidentally left their stuff behind upon visiting Nottingham in the mid to late 1100's. Not to mention 'plastic arrow heads' on the arrows, seriously, were they trying to fool those with a keen eye, because if they did….mission failed.

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So, what's the verdict for this show? Though it's got its quirks, chinks and faults, it doesn't derive from the fact that it's a show to watch every now and then for the sake of having something to laugh at and enjoy as well as poke fun at with your friends and sometimes family members, the actors were fantastic, especially the primary cast of the series.

So…I would give this series a 7/8 out of 10 as well as a Lady Harlequin seal of approval, though it's got it's problems, we love it all the same!

So, where are you going to find this series? It used to be on Netflix for a number of years, but this year at the end of April, it had expired on there, so pretty much the only place to find it is on Hulu and maybe on Amazon Prime if you want to stream it, though in the case of Amazon Prime I think you need to buy it first, Vudu you need to buy in order to watch definitely! And if you want to get the DVD collection, I'd recommend Amazon definitely!


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